By Darren Cooper / Record Sports Department

Elmwood Park rising senior Tyler Martinez is counting wins and counting on wins.

Around town, Martinez is known as one of the school’s top athletes. He was the starting quarterback for the Crusaders football team last fall. He’s closing in on 100 wins on the wrestling mat.

His best sport might really be baseball, where the 5-foot-11, 155-pounder is an outstanding shortstop and right-handed pitcher.

“Off-seasons are tough,” said Martinez, 17. “I’m still playing baseball every weekend at tournaments and I wrestle two times a week and football three times a week, but I love it. I really do.”

Martinez started playing baseball first, encouraged by his father. Last season he batted .364 and led the team in runs scored (20) and was among North Jersey’s leaders in stolen bases with 25.

“I love everything about baseball,” said Martinez. “In Elmwood Park, a lot of my friends play and it’s fun to be all together.”

When his little brother Zach started wrestling about eight years ago, Martinez signed up as well, so that the two of them could do something together. Last winter, Tyler was a district champ at 145 pounds before losing in regions. He has 79 career wins and is aiming to become just the fourth wrestler in school history to hit 100.

“Tyler has matured greatly since his freshman year,” said Elmwood Park wrestling and football coach Tom Mulligan. “Before he won the District 8 title he had a rough weekend in a tri and I brought him into the office and we figured some things out. Throughout that week I saw a complete turnaround in his attitude and preparation. It was awesome to see him get back on track and work toward the goal he had set his sights on at the beginning of the year.”

Martinez went out for football for the first time as a freshman, but didn’t think he would play, so decided to sit out and try again the next year.

As a sophomore, an injury forced Martinez into a starting role for three games and he acquitted himself well, even making Honorable Mention All-League, but the Crusaders finished 0-10.

Last year with Martinez the full-time starter, the Crusaders again struggled, earning one victory. It isn’t much, but Martinez savors every memory of that day.

“There were some good moments,” Martinez said.

This fall, Crusaders coach Tom Mulligan is looking at moving Martinez to wide receiver, to give the team an outside threat and a target for quarterback Joe Leto.

“We talk a lot about ‘leaving it all out there’ and ‘how do you want to be remembered,’” said Mulligan. “Those are things that we have been saying for the last four years, and he gets that he only has one more year to leave his mark. I think he’s going to have a senior year remembered by a lot of people.”

Martinez is also an excellent student — ‘that comes first with me,’ he said – with the goal of studying sports management. He is a big sports fan, partial to the Mets.

He’s also fond of his hometown. Martinez hasn’t experienced the team success he hoped for, but he wouldn’t change a thing.

“I love being in a small town,” Martinez. “I am the athlete in Elmwood Park right now and I take pride in that. A lot of people have told me to just keep doing your thing and you’ll be rewarded.”